Factory Farming: Cruel or Not?

Factory Farming: Cruel or Not?Have you ever thought about where your food, mainly meat, milk, and eggs in this particular case, comes from? To keep up with the abundant demand for food in today’s world people are always looking for ways to better supply that demand. Factory farming is a farm where animals are raised on a large scale using intensive methods and modern equipment. This method is cruel to animals for many reasons, such as very small living space, poor diet, numerous forms of abuse, deformities, continuous dosages of different types of drugs, unsanitary environment, and not to mention the impact it has on humans and the environment. There are numerous reasons why factory farming is considered cruel; the animals are caged, either alone or with others of the same kind, that are barely big enough to hold them, carcasses are often in among the living, unnecessary abuse by workers, numerous doses of hormones, pesticides, antibiotics and other drugs, poor diet, and painful and dangerous transportation. According to Natalie Purcell in her article “Cruel Intimacies and Risky Relationships: Accounting for Suffering in Industrial Livestock Production,” “Diminished care practices and lack of intimacy in commercial food animal production are related to cost minimization and economies of scale. For example, today the vast majority of beef cattle are not permitted to graze for long on grass fields because it is more efficient to raise them in densely populated feedlots (Pollan, 2002, 2006)” (p. 64). Hogs, chicken, and fish are not any better off; their too small holding pens, rapid-growth feeding protocols and transportation destroys their bodies inside and out. In his article “The dangers of factory farming,” Bradley Miller (1988) states, “factory farm conditions result in severe physiological as well as behavioral animal afflictions. Anemia, influenza, intestinal diseases, mastitis, metritis, orthostasis, pneumonia, and scours are only the beginning of a long...

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

...
FactoryFarmingFactoryfarming involves raising livestock in a small, confined area on a large scale for the purpose of supplying food for human consumption. Hens, for example, are crammed into cages that are housed in large sheds where there is very little light, so that they can keep laying eggs. This makes it cheaper for farmers, since they don’t have to spend as much time looking after the welfare of their livestock. There are certainly ethical questions. It could be argued that factoryfarming is extremely cruel for the animals involved and that there are better ways for food to be produced.
Factoryfarming began in the 1920’s soon after the discovery of vitamins A and D; when these vitamins are added to feed, animals no longer required exercise and sunlight for growth. This allowed large numbers of animals to be raised indoors year-round. The greatest problem that was faced in raising these animals indoors was the spread of disease, which was combated in the 1940s with the development of antibiotics. Farmers found they could increase productivity and reduce the operating costs by using mechanization and assembly-line techniques. (FactorySanctuary.com)
In today's factory farms, animals are crammed by the thousands into filthy, windowless sheds and confined to wire cages, gestation crates, barren dirt lots, and other...

...﻿
Leah Mattingly
November 19, 2013
FactoryFarming: The Truth Revealed
Many people might not be aware of what really happens in factory farms, or if they do, they tend to turn a blind eye towards it. Our society has a fairytale image of how factory farm animals live: Cows grazing the luscious green fields, hens nesting in a warm, spacious barn, and pigs rolling around in mud enjoying the sunny day. This vision of farm life is far from reality, especially today with demand for cheap, delicious meat rising. Today, billions of animals are born, confined, biologically manipulated, transported, and slaughtered for human consumption. The majority of farm animals are not enjoying the ideal farm life, but instead, they are living in factory farms, also known as confined animals feeding operations (CAFOs) or intensive live-stock operations (ILOs) (Williams, Nancy). The purpose of factoryfarming is to produce some of the lowest prices in the world for meat, eggs, and dairy products, but is it really worth the cost? Not only is animal welfare at risk, but so is the environment and human health. FactoryFarming should be banned in the United States, or even better, worldwide.
Today we live in a society where animals are held at higher respect than they were ever before. Dogs have become known as a “man’s best friend” and cats are just as welcome on...

...﻿
FactoryFarming is cruel to animals
Student 1
PHI 103
Instructor KB
09 July, 2013
FactoryFarming is Cruel to Animals
It is so amazing that most Americans are so caring of the animals they keep as pets, and yet are so unconcerned about the upbringing or disposition of the ones they cook for dinner. It is amazing how some Americans see themselves as sympathizing folks and animal lovers until they reflect on what they just ate. Society loves animals as pets, adopts them as extensions of their families, spend ridiculous amounts of money on them, and mourn their deaths. How is it that these same Americans are so indifferent towards the ones they cook for dinner (Arora, 2013)? Factory farms dominate U.S. food production, employing practices that severely abuse animals, puts an enormous strain on our natural resources, and threatens the Nation’s health.
Factory farms provide cheap meat that is more affordable to more people, utilizes less real-estate, creates the avenue for more farming jobs to stay in the U.S, and allows cheap fast food to exist. These are really great advantages of the factoryfarming industry, but come at a tremendous cost. Factoryfarming puts an enormous strain on our natural resources. According to a report in...

...Joey Ortega
FactoryFarming: Americas Greatest Mistake
Factoryfarming by definition is the practice of raising livestock in confinement at high stocking density. Animals are born within the farm which is typically a warehouse, and they may never see the light of day. They are simply another animal growing in a factory farm and making their way to your dinner table. By definition factoryfarming does not sound that bad, and makes sense seeing as the demand for low cost meat is at an all time high, but in reality it is a cruel act that shoes that compassion for animals is no longer a priority. Despite the fact that it may be a necessity it is not without its obvious downsides.
The process of producing animals at such high density poses many threats that may not be obvious at first. One may never think to discover where there meat comes from, but had they known they may have chosen to not eat factory farmed meats. When we take an up close look at factory farms the first thing that we notice is the crammed spaces that the animals are forced to live in. When taking an even closer look we see that not only are the animals confined to small spaces, but they are treated inhumanely by the so called “farmers” that are raising them. This lifestyle that the animals live is more of a process where they are born then forced to grow rapidly...

...much debate over the years, correlating with the rise of the animal rights movement and intensive farming. Cambridge Dictionaries defines this intensive, or factory, farming as “a system of farming in which many animals are kept in an enclosed area in order to produce a large amount of meat, eggs, or milk as cheaply as possible.” Views differ about this type of farming, some for it and some against it. The large scale production of livestock for food and other products is what is best for all parties involved.
One justification for the mass production of meat and other goods is that it is what is best for the population, as it benefits society. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), over 16 million farm and agriculture related careers exist in America today. These include anything from farm employment to food transportation and manufacturing. People in society need jobs, and as long as intensive farming continues to grow, more and more will be created. Intensive farming also makes meat affordable to the poorest of communities on a fairly consistent basis, and the nutrients found in these products are important for a healthy diet. A 2011 study by Colby College found that retail prices for organic ground beef were 134 percent greater than those for beef produced on large scale farms. Additionally, with the growth of the world population, confinement...

...Factoryfarming is the process of raising livestock in confinement at high stocking density, where a farm operates as a business — a practice typical in industrial farming by agribusinesses.[1][2][3][4][5] The main products of this industry are meat, milk and eggs for human consumption.[6] There have been issues regarding whether factoryfarming is sustainable and ethical.[7]
Confinement at high stocking density is one part of a systematic effort to produce the highest output at the lowest cost by relying on economies of scale, modern machinery, biotechnology, and global trade. Confinement at high stocking density requires antibiotics and pesticides to mitigate the spread of disease and pestilence exacerbated by these crowded living conditions.[8] In addition, antibiotics are used to stimulate livestock growth by killing intestinal bacteria.[9] There are differences in the way factoryfarming techniques are practiced around the world. There is a continuing debate over the benefits, risks and ethical questions of factoryfarming. The issues include the efficiency of food production; animal welfare; whether it is essential for feeding the growing global human population; the environmental impact and the health risks.
Contents
1 History
2 Nature of the practice
2.1 Scale
2.2 Distinctive characteristics
3 Ethical issues
3.1 Human health impact...

...Oral Presentation Preparation
FactoryFarming
First of all, I am not against meat eating. However, factoryfarming is an unacceptable practice of meat producing and this unethical action need to be stopped. In order to support my idea, I am going to discuss the facts about factoryfarming.
In order to have a better understanding about factoryfarming, it is necessary to define what the factoryfarming is. It is almost where the meat comes from. In 1920s, factoryfarming began to modify family farming to maximize the profits at great cost to both humans and animals. In fact, two million small farms have disappeared in 1950s. If the rate continues to be the same, there will no real independent farm left. Soon after they discover the vitamin A and D, which are added to feed animals, the animals are no longer required to exercise and sunlight for growth. Therefore, animals in factoryfarming are raised indoor for their whole lives. In addition, in the food industry, animals are not considered animals at all; they are food-producing machines. They are confined to small cages with metal bars.
So, why are there too many people against factoryfarming? The reason is not hard to find – animals are suffered most by factory...

...
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to explore the harmful affects of factoryfarming and help identify ways we can protect ourselves. The essay reviews the history of the industrialization of farms in our country, and offers a true understanding of where our food comes from. After reading Meat and Milk Factories by Peter Singer and Jim Mason, I was reminded of today’s growing problems created by the industrialization of farming. It is important to address the concerns of human health, animal welfare, and the environment as they relate to the radical and drastic changes our country has forcefully imposed on us, with the rise of genetically engineer foods that are mass produced on factory farms. The paper discusses the division between those who see the rise of economic opportunities, verses those who see destruction of our nations natural foods. I hope to challenge the reader to think globally and personally and make individual decisions that will fight against factoryfarming and fight toward a better future of American food sources.
The Battle Against FactoryFarming: What we can do to change the systemand chose the foods we want to eat
“I will have the Chicken caser salad, a diet coke and a side of recombinant bivine growth hormone with extra antibiotics and chemical pesticides sprinkled on top.” Although this may not...